Adaptive up-sampling filter for luma and chroma with reference picture resampling (rpr)

ABSTRACT

Coded information indicates that an adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to a current block in a current picture. A respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks of the current block is determined. A respective filter coefficient set is determined for each of the plurality of subblocks from a plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter. The respective filter coefficient set is determined based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture. The respective sampling rate is associated with one of a plurality of phases of the RPR. The adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets without applying a secondary adaptive loop filter (ALF).

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The present disclosure claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/228,560, “Adaptive Up-Sampling Filter For Luma and Chroma With Reference Picture Resampling (RPR)” filed on Aug. 2, 2021, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure describes embodiments generally related to video coding.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

Uncompressed digital video can include a series of pictures, each picture having a spatial dimension of, for example, 1920×1080 luminance samples and associated chrominance samples. The series of pictures can have a fixed or variable picture rate (informally also known as frame rate), of, for example 60 pictures per second or 60 Hz. Uncompressed video has specific bitrate requirements. For example, 1080p60 4:2:0 video at 8 bit per sample (1920×1080 luminance sample resolution at 60 Hz frame rate) requires close to 1.5 Gbit/s bandwidth. An hour of such video requires more than 600 GBytes of storage space.

One purpose of video coding and decoding can be the reduction of redundancy in the input video signal, through compression. Compression can help reduce the aforementioned bandwidth and/or storage space requirements, in some cases by two orders of magnitude or more. Both lossless compression and lossy compression, as well as a combination thereof can be employed. Lossless compression refers to techniques where an exact copy of the original signal can be reconstructed from the compressed original signal. When using lossy compression, the reconstructed signal may not be identical to the original signal, but the distortion between original and reconstructed signals is small enough to make the reconstructed signal useful for the intended application. In the case of video, lossy compression is widely employed. The amount of distortion tolerated depends on the application; for example, users of certain consumer streaming applications may tolerate higher distortion than users of television distribution applications. The compression ratio achievable can reflect that: higher allowable/tolerable distortion can yield higher compression ratios.

A video encoder and decoder can utilize techniques from several broad categories, including, for example, motion compensation, transform, quantization, and entropy coding.

Video codec technologies can include techniques known as intra coding. In intra coding, sample values are represented without reference to samples or other data from previously reconstructed reference pictures. In some video codecs, the picture is spatially subdivided into blocks of samples. When all blocks of samples are coded in intra mode, that picture can be an intra picture. Intra pictures and their derivations such as independent decoder refresh pictures, can be used to reset the decoder state and can, therefore, be used as the first picture in a coded video bitstream and a video session, or as a still image. The samples of an intra block can be exposed to a transform, and the transform coefficients can be quantized before entropy coding. Intra prediction can be a technique that minimizes sample values in the pre-transform domain. In some cases, the smaller the DC value after a transform is, and the smaller the AC coefficients are, the fewer the bits that are required at a given quantization step size to represent the block after entropy coding.

Traditional intra coding such as known from, for example MPEG-2 generation coding technologies, does not use intra prediction. However, some newer video compression technologies include techniques that attempt, from, for example, surrounding sample data and/or metadata obtained during the encoding and/or decoding of spatially neighboring, and preceding in decoding order, blocks of data. Such techniques are henceforth called “intra prediction” techniques. Note that in at least some cases, intra prediction is using reference data only from the current picture under reconstruction and not from reference pictures.

There can be many different forms of intra prediction. When more than one of such techniques can be used in a given video coding technology, the technique in use can be coded in an intra prediction mode. In certain cases, modes can have submodes and/or parameters, and those can be coded individually or included in the mode codeword. Which codeword to use for a given mode, submode, and/or parameter combination can have an impact in the coding efficiency gain through intra prediction, and so can the entropy coding technology used to translate the codewords into a bitstream.

A certain mode of intra prediction was introduced with H.264, refined in H.265, and further refined in newer coding technologies such as joint exploration model (JEM), versatile video coding (VVC), and benchmark set (BMS). A predictor block can be formed using neighboring sample values belonging to already available samples. Sample values of neighboring samples are copied into the predictor block according to a direction. A reference to the direction in use can be coded in the bitstream or may itself be predicted.

Referring to FIG. 1A, depicted in the lower right is a subset of nine predictor directions known from H.265's 33 possible predictor directions (corresponding to the 33 angular modes of the 35 intra modes). The point where the arrows converge (101) represents the sample being predicted. The arrows represent the direction from which the sample is being predicted. For example, arrow (102) indicates that sample (101) is predicted from a sample or samples to the upper right, at a 45 degree angle from the horizontal. Similarly, arrow (103) indicates that sample (101) is predicted from a sample or samples to the lower left of sample (101), in a 22.5 degree angle from the horizontal.

Still referring to FIG. 1A, on the top left there is depicted a square block (104) of 4×4 samples (indicated by a dashed, boldface line). The square block (104) includes 16 samples, each labelled with an “S”, its position in the Y dimension (e.g., row index) and its position in the X dimension (e.g., column index). For example, sample S21 is the second sample in the Y dimension (from the top) and the first (from the left) sample in the X dimension. Similarly, sample S44 is the fourth sample in block (104) in both the Y and X dimensions. As the block is 4×4 samples in size, S44 is at the bottom right. Further shown are reference samples that follow a similar numbering scheme. A reference sample is labelled with an R, its Y position (e.g., row index) and X position (column index) relative to block (104). In both H.264 and H.265, prediction samples neighbor the block under reconstruction; therefore no negative values need to be used.

Intra picture prediction can work by copying reference sample values from the neighboring samples as appropriated by the signaled prediction direction. For example, assume the coded video bitstream includes signaling that, for this block, indicates a prediction direction consistent with arrow (102)—that is, samples are predicted from a prediction sample or samples to the upper right, at a 45 degree angle from the horizontal. In that case, samples S41, S32, S23, and S14 are predicted from the same reference sample R05. Sample S44 is then predicted from reference sample R08.

In certain cases, the values of multiple reference samples may be combined, for example through interpolation, in order to calculate a reference sample; especially when the directions are not evenly divisible by 45 degrees.

The number of possible directions has increased as video coding technology has developed. In H.264 (year 2003), nine different direction could be represented. That increased to 33 in H.265 (year 2013), and JEM/VVC/BMS, at the time of disclosure, can support up to 65 directions. Experiments have been conducted to identify the most likely directions, and certain techniques in the entropy coding are used to represent those likely directions in a small number of bits, accepting a certain penalty for less likely directions. Further, the directions themselves can sometimes be predicted from neighboring directions used in neighboring, already decoded, blocks.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic (110) that depicts 65 intra prediction directions according to JEM to illustrate the increasing number of prediction directions over time.

The mapping of intra prediction directions bits in the coded video bitstream that represent the direction can be different from video coding technology to video coding technology; and can range, for example, from simple direct mappings of prediction direction to intra prediction mode, to codewords, to complex adaptive schemes involving most probable modes, and similar techniques. In all cases, however, there can be certain directions that are statistically less likely to occur in video content than certain other directions. As the goal of video compression is the reduction of redundancy, those less likely directions will, in a well working video coding technology, be represented by a larger number of bits than more likely directions.

Video coding and decoding can be performed using inter-picture prediction with motion compensation. Motion compensation can be a lossy compression technique and can relate to techniques where a block of sample data from a previously reconstructed picture or part thereof (reference picture), after being spatially shifted in a direction indicated by a motion vector (MV henceforth), is used for the prediction of a newly reconstructed picture or picture partition. In some cases, the reference picture can be the same as the picture currently under reconstruction. MVs can have two dimensions X and Y, or three dimensions, the third being an indication of the reference picture in use (the latter, indirectly, can be a time dimension).

In some video compression techniques, an MV applicable to a certain area of sample data can be predicted from other MVs, for example from those related to another area of sample data spatially adjacent to the area under reconstruction, and preceding that MV in decoding order. Doing so can substantially reduce the amount of data required for coding the MV, thereby removing redundancy and increasing compression. MV prediction can work effectively, for example, because when coding an input video signal derived from a camera (known as natural video) there is a statistical likelihood that areas larger than the area to which a single MV is applicable move in a similar direction and, therefore, can in some cases be predicted using a similar motion vector derived from MVs of neighboring area. That results in the MV found for a given area to be similar or the same as the MV predicted from the surrounding MVs, and that in turn can be represented, after entropy coding, in a smaller number of bits than what would be used if coding the MV directly. In some cases, MV prediction can be an example of lossless compression of a signal (namely: the MVs) derived from the original signal (namely: the sample stream). In other cases, MV prediction itself can be lossy, for example because of rounding errors when calculating a predictor from several surrounding MVs.

Various MV prediction mechanisms are described in H.265/HEVC (ITU-T Rec. H.265, “High Efficiency Video Coding”, December 2016). Out of the many MV prediction mechanisms that H.265 offers, described here is a technique henceforth referred to as “spatial merge”.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a current block (201) comprises samples that have been found by the encoder during the motion search process to be predictable from a previous block of the same size that has been spatially shifted. Instead of coding that MV directly, the MV can be derived from metadata associated with one or more reference pictures, for example from the most recent (in decoding order) reference picture, using the MV associated with either one of five surrounding samples, denoted A0, A1, and B0, B1, B2 (202 through 206, respectively). In H.265, the MV prediction can use predictors from the same reference picture that the neighboring block is using.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure provide methods and apparatuses for video encoding/decoding. In some examples, an apparatus for video decoding includes processing circuitry.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method of video decoding performed in a video decoder is provided. In the method, coded information of a current block in a current picture can be received from a coded video bitstream. The coded information can indicate that an adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to the current block. A respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks of the current block can be determined. A respective filter coefficient set can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks from a plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter. The respective filter coefficient set can be determined based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture. The respective sampling rate can be associated with one of a plurality of phases of the RPR. The adaptive up-sampling filter can be applied to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets for the plurality of subblocks without applying a secondary adaptive loop filter (ALF).

To determine the respective class, a respective class index can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks based on directionality and activity of a local gradient of luma samples of the respective subblock. The respective class can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks based on the class index corresponding to the respective subblock.

In some embodiments, a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block can be equal to a product of N and M. The N can be a number of the classes associated with the current block and the M can be a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the luma samples of the current block.

In some embodiments, a number of the filter coefficient sets for chroma samples of the current block can be equal to L, where the L can be a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the chroma samples of the current block.

In the method, a first cost value of a first filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets can be determined. The first cost value can indicate a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the first filter coefficient set. A second cost value of a second filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets can be determined. The second cost value can indicate a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the second filter coefficient set. One of the first filter coefficient set and the second filter coefficient set can be selected based on which of the first cost value and the second cost value is smaller.

In some embodiments, the first filter coefficient set can be associated with a first class index, and the second filter coefficient set can be associated with a second class index. The second class index can be consecutive to the first class index.

In some embodiments, the first filter coefficient set can be associated with a first phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, and the second filter coefficient set can be associated with a second phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, where the second phase can be consecutive to the first phase of the RPR.

In some embodiments, a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block can be equal to a product of N and P. The N can be a number of the classes associated with the current block and the P can be a number of regions partitioned from the current picture. Accordingly, the first filter coefficient set can be associated with a first region of the current picture, and the second filter coefficient set can be associated with a second region of the current picture.

In the method, the plurality of filter coefficient sets can be included in an adaptive parameter set of the coded information.

The adaptive up-sampling filter can further include a luma adaptive up-sampling filter and a chroma adaptive up-sampling filter. A high-resolution luma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated based on a lower-resolution luma component of reconstructed samples of the current block as an input to the luma adaptive up-sampling filter. A high-resolution chroma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated based on the lower-resolution luma component and a lower-resolution chroma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block as inputs to the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry can be configured to perform any of the methods for video encoding/decoding.

Aspects of the disclosure also provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer for video decoding cause the computer to perform any of the methods for video encoding/decoding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features, the nature, and various advantages of the disclosed subject matter will be more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic illustration of an exemplary subset of intra prediction modes.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of exemplary intra prediction directions.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a current block and its surrounding spatial merge candidates in one example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a simplified block diagram of a communication system (300) in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a simplified block diagram of a communication system (400) in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a simplified block diagram of a decoder in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a simplified block diagram of an encoder in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an encoder in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a decoder in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of an adaptive loop filter (ALF) and a cross-component ALF (CC-ALF) in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10A is a first exemplary schematic illustration of an ALF for reference picture resampling (RPR) in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10B is a second exemplary schematic illustration of an ALF for RPR in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of an adaptive up-sampling filter in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows a flow chart outlining an exemplary decoding process according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows a flow chart outlining an exemplary encoding process according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of a computer system in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a communication system (300) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system (300) includes a plurality of terminal devices that can communicate with each other, via, for example, a network (350). For example, the communication system (300) includes a first pair of terminal devices (310) and (320) interconnected via the network (350). In the FIG. 3 example, the first pair of terminal devices (310) and (320) performs unidirectional transmission of data. For example, the terminal device (310) may code video data (e.g., a stream of video pictures that are captured by the terminal device (310)) for transmission to the other terminal device (320) via the network (350). The encoded video data can be transmitted in the form of one or more coded video bitstreams. The terminal device (320) may receive the coded video data from the network (350), decode the coded video data to recover the video pictures and display video pictures according to the recovered video data. Unidirectional data transmission may be common in media serving applications and the like.

In another example, the communication system (300) includes a second pair of terminal devices (330) and (340) that performs bidirectional transmission of coded video data that may occur, for example, during videoconferencing. For bidirectional transmission of data, in an example, each terminal device of the terminal devices (330) and (340) may code video data (e.g., a stream of video pictures that are captured by the terminal device) for transmission to the other terminal device of the terminal devices (330) and (340) via the network (350). Each terminal device of the terminal devices (330) and (340) also may receive the coded video data transmitted by the other terminal device of the terminal devices (330) and (340), and may decode the coded video data to recover the video pictures and may display video pictures at an accessible display device according to the recovered video data.

In the FIG. 3 example, the terminal devices (310), (320), (330) and (340) may be illustrated as servers, personal computers and smart phones but the principles of the present disclosure may be not so limited. Embodiments of the present disclosure find application with laptop computers, tablet computers, media players and/or dedicated video conferencing equipment. The network (350) represents any number of networks that convey coded video data among the terminal devices (310), (320), (330) and (340), including for example wireline (wired) and/or wireless communication networks. The communication network (350) may exchange data in circuit-switched and/or packet-switched channels. Representative networks include telecommunications networks, local area networks, wide area networks and/or the Internet. For the purposes of the present discussion, the architecture and topology of the network (350) may be immaterial to the operation of the present disclosure unless explained herein below.

FIG. 4 illustrates, as an example for an application for the disclosed subject matter, the placement of a video encoder and a video decoder in a streaming environment. The disclosed subject matter can be equally applicable to other video enabled applications, including, for example, video conferencing, digital TV, storing of compressed video on digital media including CD, DVD, memory stick and the like, and so on.

A streaming system may include a capture subsystem (413), that can include a video source (401), for example a digital camera, creating for example a stream of video pictures (402) that are uncompressed. In an example, the stream of video pictures (402) includes samples that are taken by the digital camera. The stream of video pictures (402), depicted as a bold line to emphasize a high data volume when compared to encoded video data (404) (or coded video bitstreams), can be processed by an electronic device (420) that includes a video encoder (403) coupled to the video source (401). The video encoder (403) can include hardware, software, or a combination thereof to enable or implement aspects of the disclosed subject matter as described in more detail below. The encoded video data (404) (or encoded video bitstream (404)), depicted as a thin line to emphasize the lower data volume when compared to the stream of video pictures (402), can be stored on a streaming server (405) for future use. One or more streaming client subsystems, such as client subsystems (406) and (408) in FIG. 4 can access the streaming server (405) to retrieve copies (407) and (409) of the encoded video data (404). A client subsystem (406) can include a video decoder (410), for example, in an electronic device (430). The video decoder (410) decodes the incoming copy (407) of the encoded video data and creates an outgoing stream of video pictures (411) that can be rendered on a display (412) (e.g., display screen) or other rendering device (not depicted). In some streaming systems, the encoded video data (404), (407), and (409) (e.g., video bitstreams) can be encoded according to certain video coding/compression standards. Examples of those standards include ITU-T Recommendation H.265. In an example, a video coding standard under development is informally known as Versatile Video Coding (VVC). The disclosed subject matter may be used in the context of VVC.

It is noted that the electronic devices (420) and (430) can include other components (not shown). For example, the electronic device (420) can include a video decoder (not shown) and the electronic device (430) can include a video encoder (not shown) as well.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a video decoder (510) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The video decoder (510) can be included in an electronic device (530). The electronic device (530) can include a receiver (531) (e.g., receiving circuitry). The video decoder (510) can be used in the place of the video decoder (410) in the FIG. 4 example.

The receiver (531) may receive one or more coded video sequences to be decoded by the video decoder (510); in the same or another embodiment, one coded video sequence at a time, where the decoding of each coded video sequence is independent from other coded video sequences. The coded video sequence may be received from a channel (501), which may be a hardware/software link to a storage device which stores the encoded video data. The receiver (531) may receive the encoded video data with other data, for example, coded audio data and/or ancillary data streams, that may be forwarded to their respective using entities (not depicted). The receiver (531) may separate the coded video sequence from the other data. To combat network jitter, a buffer memory (515) may be coupled in between the receiver (531) and an entropy decoder/parser (520) (“parser (520)” henceforth). In certain applications, the buffer memory (515) is part of the video decoder (510). In others, it can be outside of the video decoder (510) (not depicted). In still others, there can be a buffer memory (not depicted) outside of the video decoder (510), for example to combat network jitter, and in addition another buffer memory (515) inside the video decoder (510), for example to handle playout timing. When the receiver (531) is receiving data from a store/forward device of sufficient bandwidth and controllability, or from an isosynchronous network, the buffer memory (515) may not be needed, or can be small. For use on best effort packet networks such as the Internet, the buffer memory (515) may be required, can be comparatively large and can be advantageously of adaptive size, and may at least partially be implemented in an operating system or similar elements (not depicted) outside of the video decoder (510).

The video decoder (510) may include the parser (520) to reconstruct symbols (521) from the coded video sequence. Categories of those symbols include information used to manage operation of the video decoder (510), and potentially information to control a rendering device such as a render device (512) (e.g., a display screen) that is not an integral part of the electronic device (530) but can be coupled to the electronic device (530), as was shown in FIG. 5 . The control information for the rendering device(s) may be in the form of Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI messages) or Video Usability Information (VUI) parameter set fragments (not depicted). The parser (520) may parse/entropy-decode the coded video sequence that is received. The coding of the coded video sequence can be in accordance with a video coding technology or standard, and can follow various principles, including variable length coding, Huffman coding, arithmetic coding with or without context sensitivity, and so forth. The parser (520) may extract from the coded video sequence, a set of subgroup parameters for at least one of the subgroups of pixels in the video decoder, based upon at least one parameter corresponding to the group. Subgroups can include Groups of Pictures (GOPs), pictures, tiles, slices, macroblocks, Coding Units (CUs), blocks, Transform Units (TUs), Prediction Units (PUs) and so forth. The parser (520) may also extract from the coded video sequence information such as transform coefficients, quantizer parameter values, motion vectors, and so forth.

The parser (520) may perform an entropy decoding/parsing operation on the video sequence received from the buffer memory (515), so as to create symbols (521).

Reconstruction of the symbols (521) can involve multiple different units depending on the type of the coded video picture or parts thereof (such as: inter and intra picture, inter and intra block), and other factors. Which units are involved, and how, can be controlled by the subgroup control information that was parsed from the coded video sequence by the parser (520). The flow of such subgroup control information between the parser (520) and the multiple units below is not depicted for clarity.

Beyond the functional blocks already mentioned, the video decoder (510) can be conceptually subdivided into a number of functional units as described below. In a practical implementation operating under commercial constraints, many of these units interact closely with each other and can, at least partly, be integrated into each other. However, for the purpose of describing the disclosed subject matter, the conceptual subdivision into the functional units below is appropriate.

A first unit is the scaler/inverse transform unit (551). The scaler/inverse transform unit (551) receives a quantized transform coefficient as well as control information, including which transform to use, block size, quantization factor, quantization scaling matrices, etc. as symbol(s) (521) from the parser (520). The scaler/inverse transform unit (551) can output blocks comprising sample values, that can be input into aggregator (555).

In some cases, the output samples of the scaler/inverse transform (551) can pertain to an intra coded block; that is: a block that is not using predictive information from previously reconstructed pictures, but can use predictive information from previously reconstructed parts of the current picture. Such predictive information can be provided by an intra picture prediction unit (552). In some cases, the intra picture prediction unit (552) generates a block of the same size and shape of the block under reconstruction, using surrounding already reconstructed information fetched from the current picture buffer (558). The current picture buffer (558) buffers, for example, partly reconstructed current picture and/or fully reconstructed current picture. The aggregator (555), in some cases, adds, on a per sample basis, the prediction information the intra prediction unit (552) has generated to the output sample information as provided by the scaler/inverse transform unit (551).

In other cases, the output samples of the scaler/inverse transform unit (551) can pertain to an inter coded, and potentially motion compensated block. In such a case, a motion compensation prediction unit (553) can access reference picture memory (557) to fetch samples used for prediction. After motion compensating the fetched samples in accordance with the symbols (521) pertaining to the block, these samples can be added by the aggregator (555) to the output of the scaler/inverse transform unit (551) (in this case called the residual samples or residual signal) so as to generate output sample information. The addresses within the reference picture memory (557) from where the motion compensation prediction unit (553) fetches prediction samples can be controlled by motion vectors, available to the motion compensation prediction unit (553) in the form of symbols (521) that can have, for example X, Y, and reference picture components. Motion compensation also can include interpolation of sample values as fetched from the reference picture memory (557) when sub-sample exact motion vectors are in use, motion vector prediction mechanisms, and so forth.

The output samples of the aggregator (555) can be subject to various loop filtering techniques in the loop filter unit (556). Video compression technologies can include in-loop filter technologies that are controlled by parameters included in the coded video sequence (also referred to as coded video bitstream) and made available to the loop filter unit (556) as symbols (521) from the parser (520), but can also be responsive to meta-information obtained during the decoding of previous (in decoding order) parts of the coded picture or coded video sequence, as well as responsive to previously reconstructed and loop-filtered sample values.

The output of the loop filter unit (556) can be a sample stream that can be output to the render device (512) as well as stored in the reference picture memory (557) for use in future inter-picture prediction.

Certain coded pictures, once fully reconstructed, can be used as reference pictures for future prediction. For example, once a coded picture corresponding to a current picture is fully reconstructed and the coded picture has been identified as a reference picture (by, for example, the parser (520)), the current picture buffer (558) can become a part of the reference picture memory (557), and a fresh current picture buffer can be reallocated before commencing the reconstruction of the following coded picture.

The video decoder (510) may perform decoding operations according to a predetermined video compression technology in a standard, such as ITU-T Rec. H.265. The coded video sequence may conform to a syntax specified by the video compression technology or standard being used, in the sense that the coded video sequence adheres to both the syntax of the video compression technology or standard and the profiles as documented in the video compression technology or standard. Specifically, a profile can select certain tools as the only tools available for use under that profile from all the tools available in the video compression technology or standard. Also necessary for compliance can be that the complexity of the coded video sequence is within bounds as defined by the level of the video compression technology or standard. In some cases, levels restrict the maximum picture size, maximum frame rate, maximum reconstruction sample rate (measured in, for example megasamples per second), maximum reference picture size, and so on. Limits set by levels can, in some cases, be further restricted through Hypothetical Reference Decoder (HRD) specifications and metadata for HRD buffer management signaled in the coded video sequence.

In an embodiment, the receiver (531) may receive additional (redundant) data with the encoded video. The additional data may be included as part of the coded video sequence(s). The additional data may be used by the video decoder (510) to properly decode the data and/or to more accurately reconstruct the original video data. Additional data can be in the form of, for example, temporal, spatial, or signal noise ratio (SNR) enhancement layers, redundant slices, redundant pictures, forward error correction codes, and so on.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a video encoder (603) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The video encoder (603) is included in an electronic device (620). The electronic device (620) includes a transmitter (640) (e.g., transmitting circuitry). The video encoder (603) can be used in the place of the video encoder (403) in the FIG. 4 example.

The video encoder (603) may receive video samples from a video source (601) (that is not part of the electronic device (620) in the FIG. 6 example) that may capture video image(s) to be coded by the video encoder (603). In another example, the video source (601) is a part of the electronic device (620).

The video source (601) may provide the source video sequence to be coded by the video encoder (603) in the form of a digital video sample stream that can be of any suitable bit depth (for example: 8 bit, 10 bit, 12 bit, . . . ), any colorspace (for example, BT.601 Y CrCB, RGB, . . . ), and any suitable sampling structure (for example Y CrCb 4:2:0, Y CrCb 4:4:4). In a media serving system, the video source (601) may be a storage device storing previously prepared video. In a videoconferencing system, the video source (601) may be a camera that captures local image information as a video sequence. Video data may be provided as a plurality of individual pictures that impart motion when viewed in sequence. The pictures themselves may be organized as a spatial array of pixels, wherein each pixel can comprise one or more samples depending on the sampling structure, color space, etc. in use. A person skilled in the art can readily understand the relationship between pixels and samples. The description below focuses on samples.

According to an embodiment, the video encoder (603) may code and compress the pictures of the source video sequence into a coded video sequence (643) in real time or under any other time constraints as required by the application. Enforcing appropriate coding speed is one function of a controller (650). In some embodiments, the controller (650) controls other functional units as described below and is functionally coupled to the other functional units. The coupling is not depicted for clarity. Parameters set by the controller (650) can include rate control related parameters (picture skip, quantizer, lambda value of rate-distortion optimization techniques, . . . ), picture size, group of pictures (GOP) layout, maximum motion vector search range, and so forth. The controller (650) can be configured to have other suitable functions that pertain to the video encoder (603) optimized for a certain system design.

In some embodiments, the video encoder (603) is configured to operate in a coding loop. As an oversimplified description, in an example, the coding loop can include a source coder (630) (e.g., responsible for creating symbols, such as a symbol stream, based on an input picture to be coded, and a reference picture(s)), and a (local) decoder (633) embedded in the video encoder (603). The decoder (633) reconstructs the symbols to create the sample data in a similar manner as a (remote) decoder also would create (as any compression between symbols and coded video bitstream is lossless in the video compression technologies considered in the disclosed subject matter). The reconstructed sample stream (sample data) is input to the reference picture memory (634). As the decoding of a symbol stream leads to bit-exact results independent of decoder location (local or remote), the content in the reference picture memory (634) is also bit exact between the local encoder and remote encoder. In other words, the prediction part of an encoder “sees” as reference picture samples exactly the same sample values as a decoder would “see” when using prediction during decoding. This fundamental principle of reference picture synchronicity (and resulting drift, if synchronicity cannot be maintained, for example because of channel errors) is used in some related arts as well.

The operation of the “local” decoder (633) can be the same as of a “remote” decoder, such as the video decoder (510), which has already been described in detail above in conjunction with FIG. 5 . Briefly referring also to FIG. 5 , however, as symbols are available and encoding/decoding of symbols to a coded video sequence by an entropy coder (645) and the parser (520) can be lossless, the entropy decoding parts of the video decoder (510), including the buffer memory (515), and parser (520) may not be fully implemented in the local decoder (633).

An observation that can be made at this point is that any decoder technology except the parsing/entropy decoding that is present in a decoder also necessarily needs to be present, in substantially identical functional form, in a corresponding encoder. For this reason, the disclosed subject matter focuses on decoder operation. The description of encoder technologies can be abbreviated as they are the inverse of the comprehensively described decoder technologies. Only in certain areas a more detail description is required and provided below.

During operation, in some examples, the source coder (630) may perform motion compensated predictive coding, which codes an input picture predictively with reference to one or more previously coded picture from the video sequence that were designated as “reference pictures.” In this manner, the coding engine (632) codes differences between pixel blocks of an input picture and pixel blocks of reference picture(s) that may be selected as prediction reference(s) to the input picture.

The local video decoder (633) may decode coded video data of pictures that may be designated as reference pictures, based on symbols created by the source coder (630). Operations of the coding engine (632) may advantageously be lossy processes. When the coded video data may be decoded at a video decoder (not shown in FIG. 6 ), the reconstructed video sequence typically may be a replica of the source video sequence with some errors. The local video decoder (633) replicates decoding processes that may be performed by the video decoder on reference pictures and may cause reconstructed reference pictures to be stored in the reference picture cache (634). In this manner, the video encoder (603) may store copies of reconstructed reference pictures locally that have common content as the reconstructed reference pictures that will be obtained by a far-end video decoder (absent transmission errors).

The predictor (635) may perform prediction searches for the coding engine (632). That is, for a new picture to be coded, the predictor (635) may search the reference picture memory (634) for sample data (as candidate reference pixel blocks) or certain metadata such as reference picture motion vectors, block shapes, and so on, that may serve as an appropriate prediction reference for the new pictures. The predictor (635) may operate on a sample block-by-pixel block basis to find appropriate prediction references. In some cases, as determined by search results obtained by the predictor (635), an input picture may have prediction references drawn from multiple reference pictures stored in the reference picture memory (634).

The controller (650) may manage coding operations of the source coder (630), including, for example, setting of parameters and subgroup parameters used for encoding the video data.

Output of all aforementioned functional units may be subjected to entropy coding in the entropy coder (645). The entropy coder (645) translates the symbols as generated by the various functional units into a coded video sequence, by lossless compressing the symbols according to technologies such as Huffman coding, variable length coding, arithmetic coding, and so forth.

The transmitter (640) may buffer the coded video sequence(s) as created by the entropy coder (645) to prepare for transmission via a communication channel (660), which may be a hardware/software link to a storage device which would store the encoded video data. The transmitter (640) may merge coded video data from the video coder (603) with other data to be transmitted, for example, coded audio data and/or ancillary data streams (sources not shown).

The controller (650) may manage operation of the video encoder (603). During coding, the controller (650) may assign to each coded picture a certain coded picture type, which may affect the coding techniques that may be applied to the respective picture. For example, pictures often may be assigned as one of the following picture types:

An Intra Picture (I picture) may be one that may be coded and decoded without using any other picture in the sequence as a source of prediction. Some video codecs allow for different types of intra pictures, including, for example Independent Decoder Refresh (“IDR”) Pictures. A person skilled in the art is aware of those variants of I pictures and their respective applications and features.

A predictive picture (P picture) may be one that may be coded and decoded using intra prediction or inter prediction using at most one motion vector and reference index to predict the sample values of each block.

A bi-directionally predictive picture (B Picture) may be one that may be coded and decoded using intra prediction or inter prediction using at most two motion vectors and reference indices to predict the sample values of each block. Similarly, multiple-predictive pictures can use more than two reference pictures and associated metadata for the reconstruction of a single block.

Source pictures commonly may be subdivided spatially into a plurality of sample blocks (for example, blocks of 4×4, 8×8, 4×8, or 16×16 samples each) and coded on a block-by-block basis. Blocks may be coded predictively with reference to other (already coded) blocks as determined by the coding assignment applied to the blocks' respective pictures. For example, blocks of I pictures may be coded non-predictively or they may be coded predictively with reference to already coded blocks of the same picture (spatial prediction or intra prediction). Pixel blocks of P pictures may be coded predictively, via spatial prediction or via temporal prediction with reference to one previously coded reference picture. Blocks of B pictures may be coded predictively, via spatial prediction or via temporal prediction with reference to one or two previously coded reference pictures.

The video encoder (603) may perform coding operations according to a predetermined video coding technology or standard, such as ITU-T Rec. H.265. In its operation, the video encoder (603) may perform various compression operations, including predictive coding operations that exploit temporal and spatial redundancies in the input video sequence. The coded video data, therefore, may conform to a syntax specified by the video coding technology or standard being used.

In an embodiment, the transmitter (640) may transmit additional data with the encoded video. The source coder (630) may include such data as part of the coded video sequence. Additional data may comprise temporal/spatial/SNR enhancement layers, other forms of redundant data such as redundant pictures and slices, SEI messages, VUI parameter set fragments, and so on.

A video may be captured as a plurality of source pictures (video pictures) in a temporal sequence. Intra-picture prediction (often abbreviated to intra prediction) makes use of spatial correlation in a given picture, and inter-picture prediction makes uses of the (temporal or other) correlation between the pictures. In an example, a specific picture under encoding/decoding, which is referred to as a current picture, is partitioned into blocks. When a block in the current picture is similar to a reference block in a previously coded and still buffered reference picture in the video, the block in the current picture can be coded by a vector that is referred to as a motion vector. The motion vector points to the reference block in the reference picture, and can have a third dimension identifying the reference picture, in case multiple reference pictures are in use.

In some embodiments, a bi-prediction technique can be used in the inter-picture prediction. According to the bi-prediction technique, two reference pictures, such as a first reference picture and a second reference picture that are both prior in decoding order to the current picture in the video (but may be in the past and future, respectively, in display order) are used. A block in the current picture can be coded by a first motion vector that points to a first reference block in the first reference picture, and a second motion vector that points to a second reference block in the second reference picture. The block can be predicted by a combination of the first reference block and the second reference block.

Further, a merge mode technique can be used in the inter-picture prediction to improve coding efficiency.

According to some embodiments of the disclosure, predictions, such as inter-picture predictions and intra-picture predictions are performed in the unit of blocks. For example, according to the HEVC standard, a picture in a sequence of video pictures is partitioned into coding tree units (CTU) for compression, the CTUs in a picture have the same size, such as 64×64 pixels, 32×32 pixels, or 16×16 pixels. In general, a CTU includes three coding tree blocks (CTBs), which are one luma CTB and two chroma CTBs. Each CTU can be recursively quadtree split into one or multiple coding units (CUs). For example, a CTU of 64×64 pixels can be split into one CU of 64×64 pixels, or 4 CUs of 32×32 pixels, or 16 CUs of 16×16 pixels. In an example, each CU is analyzed to determine a prediction type for the CU, such as an inter prediction type or an intra prediction type. The CU is split into one or more prediction units (PUs) depending on the temporal and/or spatial predictability. Generally, each PU includes a luma prediction block (PB), and two chroma PBs. In an embodiment, a prediction operation in coding (encoding/decoding) is performed in the unit of a prediction block. Using a luma prediction block as an example of a prediction block, the prediction block includes a matrix of values (e.g., luma values) for pixels, such as 8×8 pixels, 16×16 pixels, 8×16 pixels, 16×8 pixels, and the like.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a video encoder (703) according to another embodiment of the disclosure. The video encoder (703) is configured to receive a processing block (e.g., a prediction block) of sample values within a current video picture in a sequence of video pictures, and encode the processing block into a coded picture that is part of a coded video sequence. In an example, the video encoder (703) is used in the place of the video encoder (403) in the FIG. 4 example.

In an HEVC example, the video encoder (703) receives a matrix of sample values for a processing block, such as a prediction block of 8×8 samples, and the like. The video encoder (703) determines whether the processing block is best coded using intra mode, inter mode, or bi-prediction mode using, for example, rate-distortion optimization. When the processing block is to be coded in intra mode, the video encoder (703) may use an intra prediction technique to encode the processing block into the coded picture; and when the processing block is to be coded in inter mode or bi-prediction mode, the video encoder (703) may use an inter prediction or bi-prediction technique, respectively, to encode the processing block into the coded picture. In certain video coding technologies, merge mode can be an inter picture prediction submode where the motion vector is derived from one or more motion vector predictors without the benefit of a coded motion vector component outside the predictors. In certain other video coding technologies, a motion vector component applicable to the subject block may be present. In an example, the video encoder (703) includes other components, such as a mode decision module (not shown) to determine the mode of the processing blocks.

In the FIG. 7 example, the video encoder (703) includes the inter encoder (730), an intra encoder (722), a residue calculator (723), a switch (726), a residue encoder (724), a general controller (721), and an entropy encoder (725) coupled together as shown in FIG. 7 .

The inter encoder (730) is configured to receive the samples of the current block (e.g., a processing block), compare the block to one or more reference blocks in reference pictures (e.g., blocks in previous pictures and later pictures), generate inter prediction information (e.g., description of redundant information according to inter encoding technique, motion vectors, merge mode information), and calculate inter prediction results (e.g., predicted block) based on the inter prediction information using any suitable technique. In some examples, the reference pictures are decoded reference pictures that are decoded based on the encoded video information.

The intra encoder (722) is configured to receive the samples of the current block (e.g., a processing block), in some cases compare the block to blocks already coded in the same picture, generate quantized coefficients after transform, and in some cases also intra prediction information (e.g., an intra prediction direction information according to one or more intra encoding techniques). In an example, the intra encoder (722) also calculates intra prediction results (e.g., predicted block) based on the intra prediction information and reference blocks in the same picture.

The general controller (721) is configured to determine general control data and control other components of the video encoder (703) based on the general control data. In an example, the general controller (721) determines the mode of the block, and provides a control signal to the switch (726) based on the mode. For example, when the mode is the intra mode, the general controller (721) controls the switch (726) to select the intra mode result for use by the residue calculator (723), and controls the entropy encoder (725) to select the intra prediction information and include the intra prediction information in the bitstream; and when the mode is the inter mode, the general controller (721) controls the switch (726) to select the inter prediction result for use by the residue calculator (723), and controls the entropy encoder (725) to select the inter prediction information and include the inter prediction information in the bitstream.

The residue calculator (723) is configured to calculate a difference (residue data) between the received block and prediction results selected from the intra encoder (722) or the inter encoder (730). The residue encoder (724) is configured to operate based on the residue data to encode the residue data to generate the transform coefficients. In an example, the residue encoder (724) is configured to convert the residue data from a spatial domain to a frequency domain, and generate the transform coefficients. The transform coefficients are then subject to quantization processing to obtain quantized transform coefficients. In various embodiments, the video encoder (703) also includes a residue decoder (728). The residue decoder (728) is configured to perform inverse-transform, and generate the decoded residue data. The decoded residue data can be suitably used by the intra encoder (722) and the inter encoder (730). For example, the inter encoder (730) can generate decoded blocks based on the decoded residue data and inter prediction information, and the intra encoder (722) can generate decoded blocks based on the decoded residue data and the intra prediction information. The decoded blocks are suitably processed to generate decoded pictures and the decoded pictures can be buffered in a memory circuit (not shown) and used as reference pictures in some examples.

The entropy encoder (725) is configured to format the bitstream to include the encoded block. The entropy encoder (725) is configured to include various information according to a suitable standard, such as the HEVC standard. In an example, the entropy encoder (725) is configured to include the general control data, the selected prediction information (e.g., intra prediction information or inter prediction information), the residue information, and other suitable information in the bitstream. Note that, according to the disclosed subject matter, when coding a block in the merge submode of either inter mode or bi-prediction mode, there is no residue information.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram of a video decoder (810) according to another embodiment of the disclosure. The video decoder (810) is configured to receive coded pictures that are part of a coded video sequence, and decode the coded pictures to generate reconstructed pictures. In an example, the video decoder (810) is used in the place of the video decoder (410) in the FIG. 4 example.

In the FIG. 8 example, the video decoder (810) includes an entropy decoder (871), an inter decoder (880), a residue decoder (873), a reconstruction module (874), and an intra decoder (872) coupled together as shown in FIG. 8 .

The entropy decoder (871) can be configured to reconstruct, from the coded picture, certain symbols that represent the syntax elements of which the coded picture is made up. Such symbols can include, for example, the mode in which a block is coded (such as, for example, intra mode, inter mode, bi-predicted mode, the latter two in merge submode or another submode), prediction information (such as, for example, intra prediction information or inter prediction information) that can identify certain sample or metadata that is used for prediction by the intra decoder (872) or the inter decoder (880), respectively, residual information in the form of, for example, quantized transform coefficients, and the like. In an example, when the prediction mode is inter or bi-predicted mode, the inter prediction information is provided to the inter decoder (880); and when the prediction type is the intra prediction type, the intra prediction information is provided to the intra decoder (872). The residual information can be subject to inverse quantization and is provided to the residue decoder (873).

The inter decoder (880) is configured to receive the inter prediction information, and generate inter prediction results based on the inter prediction information.

The intra decoder (872) is configured to receive the intra prediction information, and generate prediction results based on the intra prediction information.

The residue decoder (873) is configured to perform inverse quantization to extract de-quantized transform coefficients, and process the de-quantized transform coefficients to convert the residual from the frequency domain to the spatial domain. The residue decoder (873) may also require certain control information (to include the Quantizer Parameter (QP)), and that information may be provided by the entropy decoder (871) (data path not depicted as this may be low volume control information only).

The reconstruction module (874) is configured to combine, in the spatial domain, the residual as output by the residue decoder (873) and the prediction results (as output by the inter or intra prediction modules as the case may be) to form a reconstructed block, that may be part of the reconstructed picture, which in turn may be part of the reconstructed video. It is noted that other suitable operations, such as a deblocking operation and the like, can be performed to improve the visual quality.

It is noted that the video encoders (403), (603), and (703), and the video decoders (410), (510), and (810) can be implemented using any suitable technique. In an embodiment, the video encoders (403), (603), and (703), and the video decoders (410), (510), and (810) can be implemented using one or more integrated circuits. In another embodiment, the video encoders (403), (603), and (603), and the video decoders (410), (510), and (810) can be implemented using one or more processors that execute software instructions.

The disclosure includes embodiments related to an adaptive up-sampling filter for a luma component and a chroma component of a current block when reference picture resampling (RPR) is enabled. The adaptive up-sampling filter can eliminate a 2-stage filtering operation including an up-sampling filtering and an adaptive loop filtering. In addition, a cross-component filter can be applied within the adaptive up-sampling filter for a chroma channel to further enhance the chroma quality between a up-sampled full-size picture and an original full-size picture.

ITU-T VCEG (Q6/16) and ISO/IEC MPEG (JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11) published the H.265/HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) standard in 2013 (version 1), 2014 (version 2), 2015 (version 3), and 2016 (version 4). In 2015, the two standard organizations jointly formed the JVET (Joint Video Exploration Team) to explore the potential of developing the next video coding standard beyond HEVC. In October 2017, the two standard organizations issued the Joint Call for Proposals on Video Compression with Capability beyond HEVC (CfP). By Feb. 15, 2018, 22 CfP responses on standard dynamic range (SDR), 12 CfP responses on high dynamic range (HDR), and 12 CfP responses on 360 video categories were submitted, respectively. In April 2018, all received CfP responses were evaluated in the 122 MPEG/10th JVET meeting. As a result of this meeting, JVET formally launched the standardization process of next-generation video coding beyond HEVC, the new standard was named Versatile Video Coding (VVC), and JVET was renamed as Joint Video Experts Team. In 2020, ITU-T VCEG (Q6/16) and ISO/IEC MPEG (JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11) published the VVC video coding standard (version 1).

A classic block-based hybrid video coding architecture can be applied, such as in VVC. In the classic block-based hybrid video coding architecture, new tools can be included in each basic building block to further improve the compression.

In VVC, a quadtree plus multi-type tree (QT+MTT) scheme can use quaternary splits followed by binary and ternary splits as a partitioning structure to replace a quadtree with multiple partition types that were used in HEVC. Moreover, the separated partitioning tree structure can also support a luma channel and a chroma channel, respectively. For an inter frame, the luma channel and the chroma channel in one CTU can share a same coding tree structure. However, for an intra frame, the luma channel and the chroma channel can have separate trees to improve the coding efficiency of the chroma channel.

In an inter prediction, for each inter-predicted coding unit (CU), motion parameters can be used for the inter-predicted sample generation. The motion parameters can include motion vectors, reference picture indices, a reference picture list usage index, and/or additional information that is required for new coding features of VVC. The motion parameters can be signaled in an explicit or implicit manner. When a CU is coded with a skip mode, the CU can be associated with one PU, and a significant residual coefficient, a coded motion vector delta, and/or a reference picture index may not be required. When a CU is coded with a merge mode, the motion parameters for the CU can be obtained from neighboring CUs. The neighboring CUs can include spatial and temporal candidates, and additional schedules (or additional candidates) such as introduced in VVC. The merge mode can be applied to any inter-predicted CU, not only to a skip mode. An alternative to the merge mode is an explicit transmission of motion parameters, where a motion vector, a corresponding reference picture index for each reference picture list, a reference picture list usage flag, and/or other needed information can be signaled explicitly per CU.

In VVC, a VVC Test model (VTM) reference software can include a number of new and refined inter prediction coding tools, which can include one or more of the following:

(1) Extended merge prediction

(2) Merge motion vector difference (MMVD)

(3) AMVP mode with symmetric MVD signalling

(4) Affine motion compensated prediction

(5) Subblock-based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP)

(6) Adaptive motion vector resolution (AMVR)

(7) Motion field storage: 1/16^(th) luma sample MV storage and 8×8 motion field compression

(8) Bi-prediction with CU-level weights (BCW)

(9) Bi-directional optical flow (BDOF)

(10) Decoder side motion vector refinement (DMVR)

(11) Combined inter and intra prediction (CIIP)

(12) Geometric partitioning mode (GPM)

In an intra prediction, for each intra-predicted CU, samples of an intra CU can be predicted from reference samples in neighboring blocks adjacent to a left side and/or an above side of the current CU. The neighboring blocks may have previously been decoded prior to in-loop filtering in a same picture. HEVC can have 35 intra-picture prediction modes, including planar, reference sample average (also referred to as DC mode), and 33 directional angular modes. The intra-picture prediction modes can be expanded, such as in VVC, as follows:

(1) 93 intra-picture directional prediction angles including wide-angle intra prediction (WAIP) mode

(2) Two sets of 4-tap interpolation filters

(3) Position-dependent prediction combination (PDPC)

(4) Multiple reference line (MRL)

(5) Cross-component linear model (CCLM)

(6) Intra sub-partition (ISP)

In order to achieve a better energy compaction of the residual data and further reduce the quantization error of the transformed coefficient, new tools can be introduced, such as in VVC, as follows:

(1) Non-square transforms

(2) Multiple transform selection (MTS) including explicit MTS and implicit MTS

(3) Low-frequency non-separable transform (LFNST)

(4) Subblock transform (SBT)

(5) Dependent quantization (DQ)

(6) Joint coding of chroma residual (JCCR)

In VVC, a remapping operation and three in-loop filters can be applied sequentially for a reconstructed frame to eliminate different types of artifacts. For example, luma mapping with chroma scaling (LMCS), a new sample-based process, can be performed first. Then, a deblocking filter can be used to reduce blocking artifacts. A sample-adaptive offset (SAO) filter can then be applied on top of the deblocked picture to attenuate ringing and banding artifacts. Finally, an alternative loop-filter (ALF) can be applied to reduce other potential distortions introduced by the transform and quantization process. The ALF in VVC can include two operations. The first operation can be operated based on an ALF for a block-based filter adaption for both luma and chroma samples, and the second operation can be operated based on a cross-component alternative loop filter (CC-ALF) for chroma samples only.

Filter shapes can be applied for block-based ALF. In an example, two filter shapes can be applied. The first filter shape can be a 7×7 diamond shape that is applied to the luma component, and a second filter shape can be a 5×5 diamond shape that is applied to the chroma component. One among up to 25 filters can be selected for each block, such as a 4×4 block, based on the direction and activity of local gradients of the respective block (e.g., 4×4 block). According to the directionality and activity of the local gradient, each block (e.g., 4×4 block) can be classified and categorized into one of the 25 classes. Each class can have a respective filter coefficient assignment. Before filtering, a geometric transformation, such as a 90-degree rotation and a diagonal or a vertical flip, can be applied to the filter shape (e.g., 7×7 diamond shape or 5×5 diamond shape) depending on the gradient values calculated for the 4×4 block. Applying the geometric transformation before the filtering process may be equivalent to applying the geometric transformation to samples in a filter support region. By aligning directionalities of the blocks, ALF can be performed in a more similar (or consistent) way on the blocks.

In addition to the luma 4×4 block-level filter adaptation, a CTU-level filter adaptation can also be supported in ALF. Each CTU can use a filter set calculated from the current slice, one of the filter sets signaled at already coded slices, or one of 16 offline trained filter sets. Within each CTU, the selected filter set can be applied to each 4×4 block of the CTU. Filter coefficients and clipping indices can be carried in ALF adaption parameter sets (APSs). An ALF APS can include up to 8 chroma filters and one luma filter set that can include up to 25 filters. An index i_(c) can also be included for each of the 25 luma classes. By merging different classes, a number of bits associated with the filter coefficient can be reduced.

CC-ALF can use luma sample values to refine chroma sample values within an ALF process. An exemplary combination of ALF and CC-ALF in VVC can be illustrated in FIG. 9 . As shown in FIG. 9 , a linear filtering operation can take luma samples (902) of a current block as an input to CC-ALF filters (904) and (906) to generate correction values (e.g., ΔR_(cb) and ΔR_(cr)) for chroma sample values (908) and (910). The luma samples (902) can be filtered based on an SAO (918) to reduce ringing and banding artifacts. The chroma sample value (908) can be generated by an ALF (912) based on a Cb component (914) of chroma samples of the current block as an input, and the chroma sample value (910) can be generated by the ALF (912) based on a Cr component (916) of the chroma samples of the current block as an input. The correction can be generated independently for each chroma component (e.g., (914) and (916)). After the correction, a Cb component (920) of reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated based on a sum of the chroma sample value (908) and the correction value ΔR_(cb), and a Cr component (922) of the reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated based on a sum of the chroma sample value (910) and the correction value ΔR_(cr). In addition, a Y (or luma) component of the reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated when the luma samples (902) are filtered by an ALF (926).

Reference pixel (or picture) resampling (RPR) can allow a resolution change without coding an intra random access points (IRAP) picture. The RPR can also be used in application scenarios where zooming of an entire video region or some region of interest is needed. By using RPR, a picture resolution change can be enabled to allow an inter-picture prediction based on reference pictures that have a different resolution than a to-be-decoded current picture. The RPR can require resampling of the reference pictures that are used for inter-picture prediction when the reference pictures have a different resolution than a resolution of the current picture.

A scaling ratio of RPR can be restricted. For example, the scaling ratio can be restricted from 1/2 (or a factor-of-2 down-sampling) to 8 (or a factor-of-8 up-sampling) for the scaling process from the reference picture to the current picture. Three sets of resampling filters with different cutoff frequencies can be specified to handle various scaling ratios between a reference picture and the current picture. The three sets of resampling filters can be applied for the scaling ratios ranging from 1/2 to 1/1.75, 1/1.75 to 1/1.25, and 1/1.25 to 8, respectively. In addition, 16 phases for luma and 32 phases for chroma can be applied for each resampling filter set. Each phase can correspond to a respective sampling rate of the RPR. The number of phases for the resampling filter can be the same as the number of phases for the interpolation filter used in a motion compensation.

Post-filtering of reconstructed pictures with ALF can be performed, such as in VVC, to reduce distortion between the reconstructed pictures and original pictures. The ALF can reduce a distortion between low-resolution reconstructed pictures and low resolution (or down-sampled) original pictures. When RPR is enabled, an up-sampling process can be applied to generate up-sampled reconstructed pictures. Thus, an additional ALF process stage can be applied to reduce the distortion between the up-sampled reconstructed pictures and the original full-size pictures.

FIG. 10A shows a first exemplary embodiment of applying ALF for RPR. As shown in FIG. 10A, a core decoding process (1002) can generate reconstructed samples of a current picture. At (1004), the reconstructed samples of the current picture can be filtered by a post in-loop filter. The post in-loop filter can include a de-blocking filter (DBF), a SAO, ALF-1 and/or CC-ALF-1. The DBF can improve visual quality and prediction performance by smoothing the sharp edges between blocks. The SAO can attenuate ringing and banding artifacts. The ALF-1 and CC-ALF-1 can be applied to reduce other potential distortions introduced by the transform and quantization process. At (1006), an up-sampling can be operated based on RPR to generated high-resolution reference pictures for inter-picture prediction. Accordingly, up-sampled reconstructed pictures can be generated. At (1008), ALF-2 and CC-ALF-2 can be applied to reduce the distortion between the up-sampled reconstructed pictures and the original full-size pictures. It should be noted that the reconstructed samples of the current picture that are filtered at (1004) can be saved in a decoded picture buffer (DPB) (1010) as reference pictures for future pictures.

FIG. 10B shows a second exemplary embodiment of applying ALF for RPR. As shown in FIG. 10B, a core decoding process (1012) can generate reconstructed samples of a current picture. At (1014), the reconstructed samples of the current picture can be filtered by a de-blocking filter (DBF), a SAO, ALF-1, and CC-ALF-1. At (1016), an ALF-1 can be applied to reduce distortion between reconstructed pictures and original full-size pictures. At (1018), an up-sampling can be performed to generate high-resolution reference pictures used for inter-picture prediction. Accordingly, up-sampled reconstructed pictures can be generated. At (1020), a CC-ALF-2 can be applied to reduce the distortion between the up-sampled reconstructed pictures and the original full-size pictures. The reconstructed samples of the current picture that are filtered at (1014) can be saved in a decoded picture buffer (DPB) (1022) as reference pictures for future pictures.

In FIGS. 10A and 10B, an ALF post-filter stage can be applied on the reconstructed up-sampled pictures when RPR is enabled. Two filters, such as an up-sampling filter (e.g., (1006)) and the ALF/CC-ALF (e.g., (1008)), can be cascaded in the ALF post-filter stage to enhance the reconstructed picture when RPR is enabled. The ALF post-filter stages in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B can increase latency and design complexity due to use of a series of cascaded filters.

In the disclosure, an adaptive up-sampling filter for luma and chroma can be used instead of cascaded filters, for example with an up-sampling filter, an ALF, and a CC-ALF. The adaptive up-sampling filter can combine (or integrate) functions of the cascaded filters such as one or more of the up-sampling filter, the ALF, and the CC-ALF. Accordingly, a cascaded structure may not need to be utilized in the adaptive up-sampling filter.

In some embodiments, the adaptive up-sampling filter can include an adaptive up-sampling luma filter and an adaptive chroma up-sampling filters, where the adaptive up-sampling luma filter can apply a low-resolution luma signal as an input and a high-resolution luma signal as an output, and the adaptive up-sampling chroma filter can apply the low-resolution luma signal and a low-resolution chroma signal as an input and a high-resolution chroma signal as an output.

The adaptive up-sampling filter can include adaptive filer coefficients to realize the up-scaling (or up-sampling) process and reduce a distortion between the up-sampled reconstructed picture and the original full-size picture when RPR is enabled. The filter coefficients of the adaptive up-sampling filter can be adaptive to classes of small blocks (or subblocks) of a CU and phases of the RPR. Thus, a respective filter coefficient can be applied to each small block of the CU based on the class and the phase corresponding to the respective small block.

According to the directionality and activity of a local gradient within a small block (e.g., 4×4 block) for a luma channel (or luma samples), each small block within a CU of a current picture at the low resolution picture can be categorized into one of N classes. In some embodiments, the determination of the classes for the small blocks (or subblocks) of the CU for the adaptive up-sampling filter can be similar to the determination of the classes for the small blocks (or subblocks) of the CU for ALF. Thus, the N can be 25 for the luma samples of a current picture, for example.

For the luma samples of the current picture, a plurality of phases, such as M phases, can be applied to the adaptive up-sampling filter to implement the resampling function of the RPR. Each of the phases can correspond to a respective sampling rate of the RPR. Accordingly, M-phase filter coefficient sets can be introduced for the adaptive up-sampling filter to satisfy all candidate phases. Thus, for the adaptive up-sampling filter, up to M×N filter coefficient sets can be introduced according to the N classes with M phases for the luma samples of a whole picture (or a whole current picture). Each of the filter coefficient sets can include respective filter coefficients and respective clipping value indexes, for example. The filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter for the luma component can be signaled in bitstreams for a whole encoded picture (or encoded current picture) when the RPR is enabled.

The adaptive filter coefficients of the adaptive up-sampling filter can also be applied to a chroma component of the current picture. For example, when the RPR is applied, L phases can be applied to the adaptive up-sampling filter. Accordingly, up to L filter coefficient sets can be signaled in bitstreams for a whole encoded picture when the RPR is enabled.

The directionality and activity of a local gradient for each small block which is used for ALF, for example in VVC, can be applied directly for the classification of each small block for the adaptive up-sampling filter. Based on the directionality and the activity of the local gradient for each small block, a corresponding classification index (or class index) can be obtained. A class corresponding to the respective small block can be determined based on the classification index. For example, the class corresponding to the respective small block can be one of 25 candidate classes that is used for ALF in VVC.

Use of the adaptive up-sampling filter coefficient can be signaled implicitly or explicitly. In some embodiments, a flag, such as an adaptive up-sampling flag, can be signaled to indicate whether the adaptive up-sampling filter coefficient is used or not. If the flag is false, a default filter coefficient set can be used for the current picture.

In some embodiments, n filter coefficient sets for N-classes can be applied to the adaptive up-sampling filter, where n<N by using a merge method. Thus, for each phase, only n filter coefficients can be used. Therefore, only M×n filter coefficient sets can be signaled in bitstreams for the adaptive up-sampling filter.

Filter coefficient sets of different phases can be combined (or merged) in some embodiments. In an example, two filter coefficient sets can be combined (or merged) by the merge method. The filter coefficient sets can be selected arbitrarily. The merge method can select one of the two filter coefficient sets based on cost values. For example, a first cost value of a first filter coefficient set can be determined, where the first cost value can indicate a distortion, such as a rate distortion or a difference, associated with the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the first filter coefficient set. A second cost value of a second filter coefficient set can be determined, where the second cost value can indicate a distortion associated with the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the second filter coefficient set. One of the first filter coefficient set and the second filter coefficient set can be selected based on which of the first cost value and the second cost value is smaller. After recursive merging operation of two filters by using rate-distortion optimization method at an encoder side, a number of filter coefficient sets can be selected from the N filter coefficient sets, where the N can correspond to the number of the classes associated with the current picture. Finally, the best (or selected) coefficient sets can be signaled in one or more bitstreams. Moreover, a mapping table may also be signaled. The mapping table can include a plurality of filter coefficient set indices. Each filter coefficient set index can correspond to a respective class.

In another example, two filter coefficient sets of two neighboring class indices can be combined. For example, the filter coefficient set for class 0 can also be used for class 1, class 2, class 3, and class 4 after the recursive merge operation by using rate-distortion optimization at the encoder side, where the filter coefficient set for class 0 can have a smaller cost value than the cost values of the filter coefficient sets for class 2, class 3, and class 4. After recursive merging operation of filter coefficient sets for all class indices, only n filter coefficient sets in one or more bitstreams may be signaled, where n is less than class number N.

In another example, two filter coefficient sets of two different phases can further be combined. After the filter coefficient merging operation, only m×n filter coefficient sets may be signaled in one or more bitstreams, where m<M, n<1V, and M and N are the number of phases and classes respectively. Based on the merging operation, two filter coefficient sets of two arbitrary phases can be combined by using a rate-distortion optimization. The reduced filter coefficient sets and a mapping table corresponding to the phases and the filter coefficient set indices can be signaled. In some embodiments, only filter coefficient sets at adjacent (or consecutive) phases, for example two adjacent phases, can be merged. For example, a filter coefficient set of the n filter coefficient sets can be applied for both phase 1 and phase 2.

In some embodiments, the encoded picture with a low resolution can be divided into multiple sub regions. Each sub region can have a geometric shape, such as rectangular shape. In an example, the encoded picture can be partitioned into P rectangular regions. Different filter coefficient sets, such as up to N filter coefficient sets for N classes, can be used for each sub region (e.g., rectangular region) within the encoded picture. Thus, a total of P×N filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter can be applied for the P rectangular regions that are partitioned from the encoded picture.

The filter coefficient sets corresponding to the N classes and P sub regions can be merged. The filter coefficient set used for a rectangular region i can also be used for other rectangular regions, for example a rectangular region j, where i≠j. For each rectangular region, an index of the filter coefficient set can be signaled to indicate which filter coefficient set is used for the respective rectangular region.

In some embodiments, the region-based method can be adopted for luma and chroma respectively. For example, the region-based method can be used for a luma channel only.

The filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter can be signaled at an adaptation parameter set (APS) when RPR is enabled. The filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter in APS can be used for further encoded pictures with RPR. In some embodiments, the filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter can be signaled only when the current encoded picture is used as a reference picture for future pictures.

In the disclosure, in order to eliminate the two stage filtering processes for RPR, which can be shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a single adaptive up-sampling filter instead of an up-sampled filter coupled with an ALF is provided to enhance the up-sampled reconstructed full-size picture for both a luma channel and a chroma channel when RPR is enabled. FIG. 11 shows an exemplary adaptive up-sampling filter (1100). By using the adaptive up-sampling filter (1100) for a luma channel and a chroma channel, a latency and a complexity of the cascaded filters that are shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B can be reduced, for example from a 2-stage process to a 1-stage process. As shown in FIG. 11 , the adaptive up-sampling filter (1100) can include a luma adaptive up-sampling filter (1106) and a chroma adaptive up-sampling filter (1108). A core decoding process (1102) can generate reconstructed samples of a current picture. At (1104), the reconstructed samples of the current picture can be filtered by a de-blocking filter (DBF), a SAO, ALF-1 and/or CC-ALF-1. A lower-resolution luma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block can be transmitted to the luma adaptive up-sampling filter (1106) to generate a high-resolution luma component of filtered reconstructed samples of the current block. The lower-resolution luma component and a lower-resolution chroma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block can also be transmitted to the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter (1108) to generate a high-resolution chroma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block.

In order to realize the adaptation of filter coefficient of the adaptive up-sampling filter (1100) for the luma channel, the subblock level filter adaptation can be implemented by using the classification depending on the directionality and activity of the local gradient of the subblock. For example, each CU can be divided into a plurality of subblocks. A block size of each subblock can be any number, such as 4×4. For each subblock, the subblock can be classified based on a respective class index. The class index can be derived based on the directionality and the 2D Laplacian activity of a local gradient of the subblock. Each subblock can be categorized into one of the predefined classes according to the class index derivation. Based on the determined class and a sampling rate (or a phase of RPR), a corresponding filter coefficient set can be determined for the respective subblock. The coefficient set can be applied to the subblock to perform the filter process. Filtered reconstructed samples can accordingly be generated. The typical number of predefined classes can be 25, which can be the same as the class number of ALF, for example in VVC. Based on the subblock level adaptation, the adaptive up-sampling filter can be realized for different subblocks with different local gradient features.

Moreover, the luma sample for a low-resolution picture can also be used to compensate for chroma distortion between the up-sampled picture and the original picture by using the high correlation characteristic between the luma channel and the chroma channel. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , the lower-resolution luma component and the lower-resolution chroma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block can both be transmitted to the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter (1108) to generate the high-resolution chroma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block. Accordingly, a cross-component filter can be formed in the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter (1108). The cross-component filter can directly obtain the high frequency information from the low-resolution picture as the compensated offset value for up-sampling chroma sample.

FIG. 12 shows a flow chart outlining an exemplary decoding process (1200) according to some embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 13 shows a flow chart outlining an exemplary encoding process (1300) according to some embodiments of the disclosure. The proposed processes may be used separately or combined in any order. Further, each of the processes (or embodiments), encoder, and decoder may be implemented by processing circuitry (e.g., one or more processors or one or more integrated circuits). In one example, the one or more processors execute a program that is stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

Operations of processes (e.g., (1200) and (1300)) may be combined or arranged in any amount or order, as desired. In embodiments, two or more of the operations of the processes (e.g., (1200) and (1300)) may be performed in parallel.

The processes (e.g., (1200) and (1300)) can be used in the reconstruction and/or encoding of a block, so as to generate a prediction block for the block under reconstruction. In various embodiments, the processes (e.g., (1200) and (1300)) are executed by processing circuitry, such as the processing circuitry in the terminal devices (310), (320), (330) and (340), the processing circuitry that performs functions of the video encoder (403), the processing circuitry that performs functions of the video decoder (410), the processing circuitry that performs functions of the video decoder (510), the processing circuitry that performs functions of the video encoder (603), and the like. In some embodiments, the processes (e.g., (1200) and (1300)) are implemented in software instructions, thus when the processing circuitry executes the software instructions, the processing circuitry performs the processes (e.g., (1200) and (1300)).

As shown in FIG. 12 , the process (1200) can start from (S1201) and proceed to (S1210). At (S1210), coded information of a current block in a current picture can be received from a coded video bitstream. The coded information can indicate that an adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to the current block.

At (S1220), a respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks of the current block can be determined.

At (S1230), a respective filter coefficient set can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks from a plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter. The respective filter coefficient set can be determined based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture. The respective sampling rate can be associated with one of a plurality of phases of the RPR.

At (S1240), the adaptive up-sampling filter can be applied to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets for the plurality of subblocks without applying a secondary ALF.

To determine the respective class, a respective class index can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks based on directionality and activity of a local gradient of luma samples of the respective subblock. The respective class can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks based on the class index corresponding to the respective subblock.

In some embodiments, a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block can be equal to a product of N and M. N can be a number of the classes associated with the current block and M can be a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the luma samples of the current block.

In some embodiments, a number of the filter coefficient sets for chroma samples of the current block can be equal to L, where the L can be a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the chroma samples of the current block.

In the process (1200), a first cost value of a first filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets can be determined. The first cost value can indicate a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the first filter coefficient set. A second cost value of a second filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets can be determined. The second cost value can indicate a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the second filter coefficient set. One of the first filter coefficient set and the second filter coefficient set can be selected based on which of the first cost value and the second cost value is smaller.

In some embodiments, the first filter coefficient set can be associated with a first class index, and the second filter coefficient set can be associated with a second class index. The second class index can be consecutive to the first class index.

In some embodiments, the first filter coefficient set can be associated with a first phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, and the second filter coefficient set can be associated with a second phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, where the second phase can be consecutive to the first phase of the RPR.

In some embodiments, a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block can be equal to a product of N and P. N can be a number of the classes associated with the current block and P can be a number of regions partitioned from the current picture. Accordingly, the first filter coefficient set can be associated with a first region of the current picture, and the second filter coefficient set can be associated with a second region of the current picture.

In the process (1200), the plurality of filter coefficient sets can be included in an adaptive parameter set of the coded information.

The adaptive up-sampling filter can further include a luma adaptive up-sampling filter and a chroma adaptive up-sampling filter. A high-resolution luma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated based on a lower-resolution luma component of reconstructed samples of the current block as an input to the luma adaptive up-sampling filter. A high-resolution chroma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block can be generated based on the lower-resolution luma component and a lower-resolution chroma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block as inputs to the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter.

The process (1200) can be suitably adapted. Step(s) in the process (1200) can be modified and/or omitted. Additional step(s) can be added. Any suitable order of implementation can be used.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the process (1300) can start from (S1301) and proceed to (S1310). At (S1310), a respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks can be determined. The plurality of subblocks can be from a current block in a current picture.

At (S1320), a plurality of filter coefficient sets can be determined for an adaptive up-sampling filter corresponding to the classes of the current block and a plurality of phases of reference pixel resampling (RPR) that is applied for a resolution change of the current picture.

At (S1330), a respective filter coefficient set can be determined for each of the plurality of subblocks from the plurality of filter coefficient sets based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture. The respective sampling rate can be associated with one of the plurality of phases of the RPR.

At (S1340), the adaptive up-sampling filter can be applied to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets for the plurality of subblocks without applying a secondary ALF.

At (S1350), coded information of the current block can be generated. The coded information can indicate the plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter.

Then, the process proceeds to (S1399) and terminates.

The process (1300) can be suitably adapted. Step(s) in the process (1300) can be modified and/or omitted. Additional step(s) can be added. Any suitable order of implementation can be used.

The techniques described above, can be implemented as computer software using computer-readable instructions and physically stored in one or more computer-readable media. For example, FIG. 14 shows a computer system (1400) suitable for implementing certain embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

The computer software can be coded using any suitable machine code or computer language, that may be subject to assembly, compilation, linking, or like mechanisms to create code comprising instructions that can be executed directly, or through interpretation, micro-code execution, and the like, by one or more computer central processing units (CPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and the like.

The instructions can be executed on various types of computers or components thereof, including, for example, personal computers, tablet computers, servers, smartphones, gaming devices, internet of things devices, and the like.

The components shown in FIG. 14 for computer system (1400) are exemplary in nature and are not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the computer software implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Neither should the configuration of components be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of a computer system (1400).

Computer system (1400) may include certain human interface input devices. Such a human interface input device may be responsive to input by one or more human users through, for example, tactile input (such as: keystrokes, swipes, data glove movements), audio input (such as: voice, clapping), visual input (such as: gestures), olfactory input (not depicted). The human interface devices can also be used to capture certain media not necessarily directly related to conscious input by a human, such as audio (such as: speech, music, ambient sound), images (such as: scanned images, photographic images obtain from a still image camera), video (such as two-dimensional video, three-dimensional video including stereoscopic video).

Input human interface devices may include one or more of (only one of each depicted): keyboard (1401), mouse (1402), trackpad (1403), touch screen (1410), data-glove (not shown), joystick (1405), microphone (1406), scanner (1407), camera (1408).

Computer system (1400) may also include certain human interface output devices. Such human interface output devices may be stimulating the senses of one or more human users through, for example, tactile output, sound, light, and smell/taste. Such human interface output devices may include tactile output devices (for example tactile feedback by the touch-screen (1410), data-glove (not shown), or joystick (1405), but there can also be tactile feedback devices that do not serve as input devices), audio output devices (such as: speakers (1409), headphones (not depicted)), visual output devices (such as screens (1410) to include CRT screens, LCD screens, plasma screens, OLED screens, each with or without touch-screen input capability, each with or without tactile feedback capability—some of which may be capable to output two dimensional visual output or more than three dimensional output through means such as stereographic output; virtual-reality glasses (not depicted), holographic displays and smoke tanks (not depicted)), and printers (not depicted).

Computer system (1400) can also include human accessible storage devices and their associated media such as optical media including CD/DVD ROM/RW (1420) with CD/DVD or the like media (1421), thumb-drive (1422), removable hard drive or solid state drive (1423), legacy magnetic media such as tape and floppy disc (not depicted), specialized ROM/ASIC/PLD based devices such as security dongles (not depicted), and the like.

Those skilled in the art should also understand that term “computer readable media” as used in connection with the presently disclosed subject matter does not encompass transmission media, carrier waves, or other transitory signals.

Computer system (1400) can also include an interface (1454) to one or more communication networks (1455). Networks can for example be wireless, wireline, optical. Networks can further be local, wide-area, metropolitan, vehicular and industrial, real-time, delay-tolerant, and so on. Examples of networks include local area networks such as Ethernet, wireless LANs, cellular networks to include GSM, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE and the like, TV wireline or wireless wide area digital networks to include cable TV, satellite TV, and terrestrial broadcast TV, vehicular and industrial to include CANBus, and so forth. Certain networks commonly require external network interface adapters that attached to certain general purpose data ports or peripheral buses (1449) (such as, for example USB ports of the computer system (1400)); others are commonly integrated into the core of the computer system (1400) by attachment to a system bus as described below (for example Ethernet interface into a PC computer system or cellular network interface into a smartphone computer system). Using any of these networks, computer system (1400) can communicate with other entities. Such communication can be uni-directional, receive only (for example, broadcast TV), uni-directional send-only (for example CANbus to certain CANbus devices), or bi-directional, for example to other computer systems using local or wide area digital networks. Certain protocols and protocol stacks can be used on each of those networks and network interfaces as described above.

Aforementioned human interface devices, human-accessible storage devices, and network interfaces can be attached to a core (1440) of the computer system (1400).

The core (1440) can include one or more Central Processing Units (CPU) (1441), Graphics Processing Units (GPU) (1442), specialized programmable processing units in the form of Field Programmable Gate Areas (FPGA) (1443), hardware accelerators for certain tasks (1444), graphics adapters (1450), and so forth. These devices, along with Read-only memory (ROM) (1445), Random-access memory (1446), internal mass storage such as internal non-user accessible hard drives, SSDs, and the like (1447), may be connected through a system bus (1448). In some computer systems, the system bus (1448) can be accessible in the form of one or more physical plugs to enable extensions by additional CPUs, GPU, and the like. The peripheral devices can be attached either directly to the core's system bus (1448), or through a peripheral bus (1449). In an example, the screen (1410) can be connected to the graphics adapter (1450). Architectures for a peripheral bus include PCI, USB, and the like.

CPUs (1441), GPUs (1442), FPGAs (1443), and accelerators (1444) can execute certain instructions that, in combination, can make up the aforementioned computer code. That computer code can be stored in ROM (1445) or RAM (1446). Transitional data can be also be stored in RAM (1446), whereas permanent data can be stored for example, in the internal mass storage (1447). Fast storage and retrieve to any of the memory devices can be enabled through the use of cache memory, that can be closely associated with one or more CPU (1441), GPU (1442), mass storage (1447), ROM (1445), RAM (1446), and the like.

The computer readable media can have computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code can be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present disclosure, or they can be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts.

As an example and not by way of limitation, the computer system having architecture (1400), and specifically the core (1440) can provide functionality as a result of processor(s) (including CPUs, GPUs, FPGA, accelerators, and the like) executing software embodied in one or more tangible, computer-readable media. Such computer-readable media can be media associated with user-accessible mass storage as introduced above, as well as certain storage of the core (1440) that are of non-transitory nature, such as core-internal mass storage (1447) or ROM (1445). The software implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure can be stored in such devices and executed by core (1440). A computer-readable medium can include one or more memory devices or chips, according to particular needs. The software can cause the core (1440) and specifically the processors therein (including CPU, GPU, FPGA, and the like) to execute particular processes or particular parts of particular processes described herein, including defining data structures stored in RAM (1446) and modifying such data structures according to the processes defined by the software. In addition or as an alternative, the computer system can provide functionality as a result of logic hardwired or otherwise embodied in a circuit (for example: accelerator (1444)), which can operate in place of or together with software to execute particular processes or particular parts of particular processes described herein. Reference to software can encompass logic, and vice versa, where appropriate. Reference to a computer-readable media can encompass a circuit (such as an integrated circuit (IC)) storing software for execution, a circuit embodying logic for execution, or both, where appropriate. The present disclosure encompasses any suitable combination of hardware and software.

APPENDIX

-   A: Acronyms -   JEM: joint exploration model -   VVC: versatile video coding -   BMS: benchmark set -   MV: Motion Vector -   HEVC: High Efficiency Video Coding -   SEI: Supplementary Enhancement Information -   VUI: Video Usability Information -   GOPs: Groups of Pictures -   TUs: Transform Units, -   PUs: Prediction Units -   CTUs: Coding Tree Units -   CTBs: Coding Tree Blocks -   PBs: Prediction Blocks -   HRD: Hypothetical Reference Decoder -   SNR: Signal Noise Ratio -   CPUs: Central Processing Units -   GPUs: Graphics Processing Units -   CRT: Cathode Ray Tube -   LCD: Liquid-Crystal Display -   OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Diode -   CD: Compact Disc -   DVD: Digital Video Disc -   ROM: Read-Only Memory -   RAM: Random Access Memory -   ASIC: Application-Specific Integrated Circuit -   PLD: Programmable Logic Device -   LAN: Local Area Network -   GSM: Global System for Mobile communications -   LTE: Long-Term Evolution -   CANBus: Controller Area Network Bus -   USB: Universal Serial Bus -   PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect -   FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Areas -   SSD: solid-state drive -   IC: Integrated Circuit -   CU: Coding Unit

While this disclosure has described several exemplary embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and various substitute equivalents, which fall within the scope of the disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems and methods which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are thus within the spirit and scope thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of video decoding performed in a video decoder, the method comprising: receiving coded information of a current block in a current picture from a coded video bitstream, the coded information indicating that an adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to the current block; determining a respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks from the current block; determining a respective filter coefficient set for each of the plurality of subblocks from a plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture, the respective sampling rate being associated with one of a plurality of phases of the RPR; and applying the adaptive up-sampling filter to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets for the plurality of subblocks without applying a secondary adaptive loop filter (ALF).
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the respective class further comprises: determining a respective class index for each of the plurality of subblocks based on directionality and activity of a local gradient of luma samples of the respective subblock; and determining the respective class for each of the plurality of subblocks based on the class index corresponding to the respective subblock.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block is equal to a product of N and M, the N being a number of the classes associated with the current block and the M being a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the luma samples of the current block.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein a number of the filter coefficient sets for chroma samples of the current block is equal to L, the L being a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the chroma samples of the current block.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a first cost value of a first filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets, the first cost value indicating a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the first filter coefficient set; determining a second cost value of a second filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets, the second cost value indicating a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the second filter coefficient set; and selecting one of the first filter coefficient set and the second filter coefficient set based on which of the first cost value and the second cost value is smaller.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein: the first filter coefficient set is associated with a first class index, and the second filter coefficient set is associated with a second class index, the second class index being consecutive to the first class index.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein: the first filter coefficient set is associated with a first phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, and the second filter coefficient set is associated with a second phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, the second phase being consecutive to the first phase of the RPR.
 8. The method of claim 5 wherein a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block is equal to a product of N and P, the N being a number of the classes associated with the current block and the P being a number of regions partitioned from the current picture.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein: the first filter coefficient set is associated with a first region of the current picture, and the second filter coefficient set is associated with a second region of the current picture.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of filter coefficient sets is included in an adaptive parameter set of the coded information.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the adaptive up-sampling filter further includes a luma adaptive up-sampling filter and a chroma adaptive up-sampling filter, a high-resolution luma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block is generated based on a lower-resolution luma component of reconstructed samples of the current block as an input to the luma adaptive up-sampling filter, and a high-resolution chroma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block is generated based on the lower-resolution luma component and a lower-resolution chroma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block as inputs to the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter.
 12. An apparatus, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: receive coded information of a current block in a current picture from a coded video bitstream, the coded information indicating that an adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to the current block; determine a respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks from the current block; determine a respective filter coefficient set for each of the plurality of subblocks from a plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture, the respective sampling rate being associated with one of a plurality of phases of the RPR; and apply the adaptive up-sampling filter to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets for the plurality of subblocks without applying a secondary adaptive loop filter (ALF).
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: determine a respective class index for each of the plurality of subblocks based on directionality and activity of a local gradient of luma samples of the respective subblock; and determine the respective class for each of the plurality of subblocks based on the class index corresponding to the respective subblock.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block is equal to a product of N and M, the N being a number of the classes associated with the current block and the M being a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the luma samples of the current block, and a number of the filter coefficient sets for chroma samples of the current block is equal to L, the L being a number of the plurality of phases of the RPR associated with the chroma samples of the current block.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: determine a first cost value of a first filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets, the first cost value indicating a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the first filter coefficient set; determine a second cost value of a second filter coefficient set of the plurality of the filter coefficient sets, the second cost value indicating a distortion between the current block and filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the second filter coefficient set; and select one of the first filter coefficient set and the second filter coefficient set based on which of the first cost value and the second cost value is smaller.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: the first filter coefficient set is associated with a first class index, and the second filter coefficient set is associated with a second class index, the second class index being consecutive to the first class index.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: the first filter coefficient set is associated with a first phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, and the second filter coefficient set is associated with a second phase of the plurality of phases of the RPR, the second phase being consecutive to the first phase of the RPR.
 18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a number of the plurality of filter coefficient sets for luma samples of the current block is equal to a product of N and P, the N being a number of the classes associated with the current block and the P being a number of regions partitioned from the current picture.
 19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the adaptive up-sampling filter further includes a luma adaptive up-sampling filter and a chroma adaptive up-sampling filter, a high-resolution luma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block is generated based on a lower-resolution luma component of reconstructed samples of the current block as an input to the luma adaptive up-sampling filter, and a high-resolution chroma component of the filtered reconstructed samples of the current block is generated based on the lower-resolution luma component and a lower-resolution chroma component of the reconstructed samples of the current block as inputs to the chroma adaptive up-sampling filter.
 20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to perform: receiving coded information of a current block in a current picture from a coded video bitstream, the coded information indicating that an adaptive up-sampling filter is applied to the current block; determining a respective class for each of a plurality of subblocks from the current block; determining a respective filter coefficient set for each of the plurality of subblocks from a plurality of filter coefficient sets of the adaptive up-sampling filter based on at least one class corresponding to the respective subblock and a respective sampling rate of reference pixel resampling (RPR) applied on a reference picture of the current picture, the respective sampling rate being associated with one of a plurality of phases of the RPR; and applying the adaptive up-sampling filter to the current block to generate filtered reconstructed samples of the current block based on the determined respective filter coefficient sets for the plurality of subblocks without applying a secondary adaptive loop filter (ALF). 